Five friends reunite to celebrate their 40th birthdays. They excitedly rent a remote cabin to have some quality time together. But the cabin is run down and the owner seems odd. When one of the friends dies, can the rest of the women trust each other to stay safe?
The Lake House is an entertaining thriller featuring five women who have been friends since college but recently lost touch. I had to suspend my disbelief as the whole plot is completely and wonderfully crazy.
The tone of the novel is set by the lake house itself which has a creepy and dangerous feel. The women feel ill at ease with the secluded location and lack of communication with the outside world. They are also trying to negotiate relationships with each other that have lapsed over the intervening years. There are also secrets they have been keeping from each other and the very last line of the book made my jaw drop!
The book is written from the first person perspective of Megan, a relationship therapist whose own marriage is in trouble. The majority of the plot is delivered in the present day but we also see Megan’s memories of events that are relevant to the current events as secrets are revealed.
The author cleverly hints at potential secrets form the past which may be behind the events in the present. She also provides a range of potential suspects and motives so that we can try to figure things out for ourselves, increasing our involvement with the plot and characters.
Overall, The Lake House was thoroughly entertaining and engaging. I have previously reviewed Two Widows by Laura Wolfe.
LAURA WOLFE Media Kit:
Title: The Lake House
Publication Day: March 17th 2021
Author: Laura Wolfe
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Description:
You can always trust your closest friends. Can’t you?
This trip was a chance to reconnect away from our busy lives. The five of us used to be so close—going right back to our college days, when we shared a rickety house and all our favorite clothes, as well as every high and low of our lives—but that was then.
Now, the thought of three days in a small cabin far from anywhere, surrounded only by water and trees, with my four oldest friends makes my stomach sink and my hands sweat. Because if they knew what I’d done—the betrayals I’ve committed—they’d never forgive me. And neither would you.
The straight-A student, the sports star with a bright future ahead of her, the sheltered girl who blossomed away from her family and the hippie child who was going to save the world. Their lives have turned out so differently to how we pictured all those years ago. I try not to think about why.
But then danger strikes, and too late I discover I’m not the only one keeping secrets. And I wonder: who will go furthest to keep the truth hidden?
Gripping, addictive and totally unputdownable, The Lake House will have you reading late into the night. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window and Big Little Lies.
Author Bio:
Laura Wolfe writes fast-paced and twisty mystery and suspense novels. Her new and upcoming releases include TWO WIDOWS (Bookouture, August 2020), SHE LIES ALONE (Bookouture, November 2020), and THE LAKE HOUSE (Bookouture, March 2021.) Her equestrian-themed YA mystery books have been shortlisted for multiple indie book awards. Laura is a lover of animals and nature. When she is not writing, she can be found hanging out with her highly-energetic kids, growing vegetables in her garden, or spoiling her rescue dog. She enjoys living in Ann Arbor, Michigan
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A young woman arrives at private investigator Charlie Winters’ office. She fears she is being stalked, that someone has been in her home. Charlie begins her investigation but then Emma’s body is discovered and Charlie becomes even more determined to avenge her and protect other women..
Watch Her Sleep is the third book to feature PI Charlotte Winters (I have reviewed First Girl Gone and Girl Under Water). Her uncle is in remission from cancer, she has an enthusiastic new assistant. Oh, and her dead sister with a fiery wit keeps her company!
Charlie is such an interesting character as she coexists with her murdered twin Allie. Allie adds an extra dimension to the series which I really enjoy. The goodnatured ribbing between siblings feels very realistic. Charlie is negotiating being a PI, a boss, a niece, a solo twin, a friend to cop Zoe and there is also the potential for romance. She grew up in the town so there are memories and relationships which feed into the narrative at various points.
The book is written in the third person, sometimes showing us the detectives and sometimes the killer. The chapters are short which drives the plot onwards and makes us keep reading (just one more chapter…) The final quarter of the book is high in drama and action but I’ll give no spoilers!
I really enjoy the quirkiness to this series which makes each crime thriller book unique. I find the style of writing engaging and the mystery of the killer’s identity kept me intrigued until the end. Watch Her Sleep is a great new story for Charlie and her team.
Watch Her Sleep book description:
Nestled in the autumn leaves, her hair tangled in thick brambles, the girl looks like she could be sleeping amongst the wild roses. But the trail of red across her delicate throat means this is a slumber she will never wake from…
When a search party trawling Salem Island find a girl’s body curled on the damp earth, the hunt for missing waitress Emma Jacobis grinds to a devastating halt. The day before, Emma had come to Detective Charlie Winters convinced someone was watching her. In her trembling hand she held a sketch of herself sleeping peacefully with the stuffed rabbit she’d had since she was a child. On the back, scrawled in black ink: You will be mine…
A box containing handwritten letters found under Emma’s bed is Charlie’s first lead. But the handwriting isn’t a match to the note left for Emma. With the help of her new assistant, a troubled girl eager to learn the ropes, Charlie’s only hope is to canvas the bar where Emma worked. There, she finds a woman with fear in her eyes and a terrifying story to tell about an encounter with a dangerous stranger. Is someone in this small town targeting vulnerable girls as prey?
Certain she’s found a twisted killer’s hunting ground, and with time running out before he strikes again, Charlie has no choice but to use her new assistant as bait to lure him out into the open. But when a scream pierces through the night, will Charlie survive the consequences? She has to, or there’s no knowing how many more innocent girls will die …
An absolutely nail-biting and completely jaw-dropping crime thriller. Fans of Kendra Elliot, Robert Dugoni and Lisa Regan will be left reeling after reading in one sitting!
Author Bio:
L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain are the authors of the Violet Darger series and The Scattered and the Dead series among others, which have collectively tallied over a million downloads. Their book, Dead End Girl, peaked at #3 in the US Kindle charts and has remained in the top 10 in multiple sub-categories since it was published in 2017.
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A military man kills his wife before committing suicide. When Detective Eleanor Raven retrieves the body, she discovers a hand leading to a case underpinned by cannibalism. In a seemingly unrelated case, the bodies of six dogs are discovered and a human murder swiftly follows…
What She Knew is the third book in the Eleanor Raven series. There are numerous references to the previous books so I would advise reading them in order if chronology is important to you. (I have only read the second Perfect Little Dolls).
Eleanor is still a tenacious but deeply flawed woman. This puts her at odds with the press and her own colleagues, but definitely her superiors find her frustrating! Her own mental health is in question following events in previous books: can she trust her own judgement?
There are three main strands of plot for Eleanor to unpick. First is the murder-suicide of Eddie Myles, then there is the convicted killer admitting to new victims, and finally the teenager escalating from animal killings to human. She is thwarted by the first case as the military crowd her out of the investigation. Skepticism plagues her attitude to the second.
The third case is the main one in my eyes. We see some third person perspective of the killer and this makes him human and scary. He is a believable character which makes him seem more dangerous. HIs mental fragility contrasts with Eleanor’s force of personality.
The action and plot get underway straightaway and pushes on relentlessly across the pages. What She Knew is an engaging crime and detective thriller with a strong female lead and complex plot.
CURRENT Media Pack
Author: Karen Long
Book: What She Knew
Publication Day: March 15th 2021
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Description:
With the sound of the doorbell, the past she ran from catches up with her.
Baby on hip, Angela Myles hums as she lays out breakfast before the school run, when an unexpected knock on the door stops her in her tracks. But when she sees the familiar face through the peephole, she immediately tries to run with her kids out the back door. Because Angela knows her visitor, she knows why they’re here, and she’ll never give up her children.
Hours later, as the police talk softly to Angela’s terrified children, trying to unpick her last moments, they wonder what other secrets she was hiding from those around her. And then another woman goes missing. How many more will pay the price for Angela’s silence?
Absolutely unputdownable. A gripping, heart-pounding read for fans of Lisa Gardner, Rachel Abbott and Cara Hunter.
What She Knew was previously published as The Cold Room.
Author Bio:
Karen Long was born in Wolverhampton but has spent the last few years living in California. She worked as an English and Drama teacher for many years, before becoming a full-time writer.
Karen has written screenplays and articles, but primarily dedicates her time to writing crime fiction and observing wildlife. She loves to travel, which is a great source of inspiration; Toronto became the backdrop to the Eleanor Raven series of thrillers after Karen spent several months there.
A passionate conservationist and lover of the crow family in particular, she has rehabilitated and adopted ravens, crows, magpies and rooks, many of whom became integrated into family life, much to the distress of household members and soft furnishings. She now volunteers regularly at Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care Centre.
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Lady Eleanor Swift and her staff leave their stately home for a holiday in Brighton. But on arrival at the hotel, Eleanor is confronted by the dead body of her husband. The only thing is, she thought he died six years ago…
Mystery By The Sea is the fifth book to feature Lady Eleanor Swift and her long suffering but deeply sarcastic butler Clifford. Defying convention, she takes her maid, cook and housekeeper away for a holiday, leading to much enjoyment from the ladies as well as much bewailing from Clifford.
We are deposited straight into the mystery as a body is discovered on arrival. The identity is that of Hilary Eden, Eleanor’s dead husband. Obviously he had survived his previous ‘death’ and now Ellie needs to find out the truth. Her heart aches to think that he has been living without her for the last few years.
The 1920s is wonderfully brought to life as well as the setting of Brighton. Social conventions are encouraged by Clifford but even he bends the rules to accommodate Ellie and the holiday spirit.
Drama and humour radiate from the pages. The relationship between Ellie and Clifford is exquisite and the dialogue is highly entertaining. There is also a change to Ellie’s friendship with police officer Seldon (‘call me Hugh’ I’m hoping for romance!)
Mystery By The Sea was a hugely enjoyable cosy murder mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie but with a modern twist of humour. I actually think this is my favourite book in the series so far 🙂
Mystery By The Sea book description:
A magnificent seaside hotel, striped deckchairs, strawberry ice cream… and a rather familiar dead body? Lady Swift is on the case!
Spring, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift, explorer extraordinaire and accidental sleuth, hasn’t had a vacation since she arrived in England a year ago. Being an amateur detective can be a rather tiring business and she is determined to escape any more murder and mysteries. So she books into the Grand Hotel in the fashionable resort of Brighton for some fresh air, fish and chips and, of course, a dip in the ocean.
Eleanor is enjoying her view of the waves and trying to find her bathing suit when calamity strikes: a guest has been found dead at her beautiful hotel. The distraught manager, who can’t afford a scandal, asks Eleanor to solve the case as swiftly as possible. Thank goodness she has her partner in crime – Gladstone the bulldog – to help her sniff out the dastardly culprit.
But when Eleanor enters the dead man’s room, she receives a shock big enough to make her forget even the finest ice cream sundae. The body is that of her husband, who supposedly died six years ago on the other side of the world. Has he been alive all these years? Why does he have a copy of their wedding photograph with a cryptic message written on the back? If Eleanor can keep herself safe long enough to find her husband’s killer, she might discover that everything is not quite as it seems beside the seaside…
A warm and witty whodunnit! Fans of Agatha Christie, T E Kinsey and L.B. Hathaway will be utterly charmed by this addictive and absolutely gripping page-turner.
Author Bio:
Verity Bright is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing partnership that has spanned a quarter of a century. Starting out writing high-end travel articles and books, they published everything from self-improvement to humour, before embarking on their first historical mystery. They are the authors of the fabulous Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery series, set in the 1920s.
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